LOGGING RASAK AND LAGAN 



1051 



which are good harbors. At the northern end is Sibigo, 

 in the central part is Telok Dalam, and on the southern 

 end is Sinabang. The Paketvaart steamers call at all 

 three places, and bring supplies and take out timber. The 

 island is part of the State of Acheen. The Achinese 

 conquered the island and established themselves there, 



OKY KOX SKX AND HIS WIFE 



Mr. Sen is the Chinese manager nf the timber company's store at Sina- 

 bang, and is a capable and progressive man. His wife is half Chinese 

 and half Malay. Her costume is that of the native Javanese of the 

 better class. 



but large numbers of the original inhabitants are still 

 found on the island. In a convention between Great Bri- 

 tain and Holland, concluded in 1872, Great Britain 

 acknowledged Holland's sovereignty over Acheen, and 

 Holland immediately asserted its sovereignty ; but 

 the Achinese offered strong resistance. After a bloody 

 and uncompromising war, which lasted from 1872 until 

 1909, the Achinese were subdued, or rather exterminated, 

 and the country is now being repopulated with Malays 

 and Javanese. The Nederlandsch-Indische Government 

 is spending large sums of money to build up the country 

 again, and to develop the natural resources and encourage 

 trade and commerce. 



The Nederlandsch-Indische Government owns and con- 

 trols the mineral and timber resources of all its territory, 

 and with the conquest of Acheen the timber of the Island 

 of Si Maloe came under Government control. The Gov- 

 ernment gave concessions to two different companies, one 

 at the northern end and one at the southern end, to ex- 

 ploit the timber of the island, under (jovernment regula- 

 tions. The two principal commercial timbers of the 



island are Rasak and Lagan. Rasak is a very hard and 

 very heavy timber, and is considered next to Teak in 

 firmness and lasting qualities. The trees grow large and 

 tall ; it is common to see them 100 feet up without a 

 limb. Next to the shore all around the island younger 

 Rasak trees are comparatively sound, but in the interior 

 most of the old, and a large percentage of the younger 

 trees are defective in the heart. The large trees invariably 

 are hollow. The reason assigned for this is, that on the 

 shores the trees have light and air, but in the interior 

 the air is excluded by the dense growth of the tropical 

 vegetation, which also prevents the penetration of sun- 

 light, and consequently the moisture caused by the heavy 

 rainfalls causes the trees to become defective. 



The Lagan timber is a softer timber, which also grows 

 to large size, but is not as lasting as Rasak, when exposed 

 to weather. It also checks very badly when it seasons, 

 and the checks start from the heart to the outside. A 

 stick of timber with the heart in, is virtually quartered 

 at times after it has seasoned; but sawed into boards or 

 dimensions that do not contain any heart, it makes fine 

 lumber for interior work, and some species greatly re- 

 semble Mahogany. Unlike the Rasak, which starts to 

 decay from the inside, but outside of the inner defects is 

 absolutely sound and firm, the Lagan starts to rot and 

 decay from the outside when its time comes, and the rot 

 penetrates the whole tree. The topography of the island 

 is very rough and uneven ; the surface is largely irregular 

 hills and knobs of every conceivable shape, and between 

 these knobs and hills is swamp. The island is shaken by 

 earthquakes at the interval of approximately twelve days: 



KAKINAU AND BATTIK 



Two Javanese women residents of Sinabang in their native costume. 

 Note the cut and the pattern of their skirts. The buttons, which are 

 as close together as they can be sewed on Karinah*s waist, twelve 

 in all, while Battie has hut live, arc British pounds. 



